Tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers.



PATENTED JAN. 2, 1906.

P. HBELY & J; KEERS. TOOL FOR SPREADING THE TUBES OF WATER TUBE BOILERS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7, 1905.

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il i'tnea'ses:

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK HEELY AND JOHN KEERS, OF YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1906.

Application filed July 7, 1905. Serial No- 268,723.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PATRICK HEELY and JOHN KEERs, citizens of theUnited States, and residents of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTools for Spreading the Tub es of Water-Tube Boilers, &c., of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a tool for spreading the tubes of water-tubeboilers; and its main object is to provide a tool by means of which suchtubes may be spread with precision to an extent necessary in anyparticular case for the insertion or removal of a fire-brick between thetubes so spread. v

As is well known, the tubes of water-tube boilers pass throughbafIie-plates which are protected from the direct action of the intenseheat of the furnace by fire-bricks of very refractory material, thesefire-bricks being so shaped as to fill the spaces between thewater-tubes and being generally identical in contour and constructed tofill a substantially diamond-shaped space between four adjacentwater-tubes and lying in close contact with adjacent fire-bricks fillingother similar spaces. In water-tube boilers there is a large number ofsuch fire-bricks, and it is a difficult matter to locate them inposition or remove them after they are once in place,

and, so far as applicants are aware, no special tool has been heretoforedevised for this purpose, and there is no means in use for accomplishingthis result. In order to insert or remove a fire-brick, it is necessaryfirstto eX- pand the water-tubes at a point somewhat in advance of theposition occupied or to be cccupied by the fire-brick and afterward soto manipulate the fire-brick as to enter it between the tubes at thepoint where they are spread and then move it into contact with thebaflie-plate by forcing it along between the water-tubes or, in case itis partly broken, to dislodge it or break it out or move it along towardthe point where the tubes are spread and then withdraw it at the pointwhere the tubes are so spread.

Our present invention relates to a tool for spreading the water-tubes ata suitable point in advance of the baffle-plate, and particularly to atool for both spreading the tubes and holding them in their spreadpositions while a fire-brick is being inserted or removed.

In a companion application, filed July 7,

1905, Serial No. 268,724, we have disclosed a tool for holding andinserting or removing a fire-brick after the water-tubes have beenproperly spread, the present application being restricted to the toolforspreading the tubes.

In insertingfire-bricks in the ordinary manner without the use of aspecial tool for spreading the water-tubes it has been found extremelydifficult to spread the tubes to a sufficient extent and maintain themin their spread positions. Because of this it has usually been necessaryto cut away portions of the edges of the fire-bricks in order to reducetheir size sufficiently to permit the insertion of the same edgewisebetween the. watertubes and subsequent turning of the firebricks intotheir proper positions in parallelism with the bafile-plate. Thiscutting operation is always a difficult one to perform Without spoilingor breaking the fire-brick. It always weakensthe brick, which is thenmore liable to be broken, and the removal of the portions of the edgesresults in leaving portions of the bafile-plate uncovered, and henceunprotected from the intense heat of the furnace.

By means of our improved tool for spreading the tubes between which thefire-bricks are to be inserted the insertion of fire-bricks of full sizeis permitted, and an important obj ect of this invention is therefore toprovide :means for permitting the insertion of such bricks which willrender it unnecessary to cut the fire-brick, and thereby weaken the sameand leave portions of the baffle-plate unprotected.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming part of thepresent application, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of ourtube-spreading tool in opera- 'tive relation with a plurality of tubesto be spread. Fig. 2 is a detail of a handle for effecting adjustmentsof the tube-spreading members of the tool. Fig. 3 is an edge elevationof the tube-spreading tool. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a fire-brick,showing the extent to which the ends of the same are usually cut beforethe fire-brick is inserted in place. Fig. 5 is a transverse section ofthe same, showing the extent to which the side edges of a fire-brick areusually out and rounded off before the fire-brick is inserted betweenthe tubes.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures of thedrawings.

The principal elements of our tool for spreading the tubes of water-tubeboilers are a carrier and two or more tube-spreading members movableaway from and toward each other for the purpose of effecting acorresponding spreading of two or more tubes or the release of suchtubes after the same have been spread. In the preferred con structionthere will be two pairs of these tube spreading members and means formoving the members of one pair in one direction to spread one pair oftubes and for moving the other pair of members in a direct1on transverseto the first for the purpose of spreading another pair of tubes. Thecar- IIGIWlllCll supports the tube-spreading members will preferablyconsist of two main parts, one of which carries one or moretubespreading members and the other of which is movable relatively tothe first part of the carrier and also supports one or moretubespreading members.

The particular construction of the two parts of the carrier may bevaried consider ably. In the construction shown the main or fixed memberof the carrier is designated generally by 2 and consists of a pair ofside bars of metal held together and spaced apart by suitableconnections and spacing-pieces. The spacing-pieces are located nearopposite ends of the main part 2 of the carrier and consist of a block 3and a fixed nut 4, the former of which is held in place by a rivet 5 andthe latter by a pair of rivets 6, At suitable in termediate points theside bars of the fixed member 2 are also connected in this case byspacing-studs 7 and 8, which are headed up and riveted and serve tospace the bars ofthe fixed part 2 at points between the ends of thetool. This fixed member of the tool constitutes a guide on which themovable member will preferably slide.

In the present construction the movable member of the tube-spreadingtool is a bar 9 of suificient thickness to fill the space between theside bars of the fixed part 2 of the carrier. This movable part 9constitutes a slide which is guided on the main part 2 by the spacingportions of the studs 7 and 8, guide-walls 10 and 11 being cut in themovable part 9 of the carrier for the purpose of permitting movementthereof lengthwise of the fixed part 2.

The tube-spreading members are preferably arranged in pairs, one memberof each pair being carried by the fixed part of the carrier and theother member of each pair by the movable part 9 of the carrier. Thetubespreading members shown in'this case are strong substantiallytriangular pieces integral with and extending in the planes of therespective side bars of the fixed part 2 of the carrier and movable part9 thereof. At least four such tube-spreading members will preferably beemployed, two of which will be in tegral with the fixed part of thecarrier and the other two of which will be integral with the movablepart of the carrier. As the fixed part of the carrier consists of twomain members or sidebars, it is convenient to have four of thesetube-spreading members integral therewith, two such members beingdisposed in corresponding positions crosswise of the fixed member of thecarrier at one point in the length thereof and the other two alsooccupying similar positions crosswise of the fixed part of the carrierat another point in the length of the tool. The tube-spreading membersof one of these pairs are designated by 12 and the tube-spreadingmembers of the other pair by 12, The tube-spreading members 12 of thefixed part 2 of the car rier cooperate with a correspondingtubespreading member 13 on the movable part 9 of the carrier, and thetube-spreading members 12 on the fixed part 2 of the carrier cooperatewith a corresponding tube-spreading member 13 on said movable part 9.The members 12 and 13 and 12 and 13 are dis posed at opposite sides ofthe respective parts with which they are connected. The working faces of'the parts 12 and 13 are designated, respectively, by 14 and 15, and theworking faces of the parts 12 and 13 are designated, respectively, by 14and 15. The working faces 14 and 15 cooperate to spread a pair of tubesin different horizontal rows, as seen in Fig. 1, while the working faces14 and 15 serve to spread two tubes in a row intermediate of those inwhich the tubes are located that are spread by the faces 14 and 15. Theworking faces 14 and 15 are here substan tially at a right angle to thelongitudinal axis of the part 2 of the carrier, while the working faces14 and 15 are at an acute angle thereto. slide 9 of the carrier is movedupward along the fixed part or guide 2 of said carrier, the workingfaces 14 and 15 will spread the tubes t in a direction substantiallyvertical to the rows of tubes, and at the same time the working faces 14and 15 will spread the tubes t in a substantially horizontal direction.Before these parts are thus spread the tool should be inserted edgewisebetween the tubes either from below or above the bank of tubes and thenturned to the position shown in Fig. 1, after which the spreading of thetubes by moving the member 9 upward, as shown in Fig. 1, may be begun. A

In order to spread the tubes t and t most advantageously, we prefer toconnect the two parts of the carrier by screw-threads, the fixed nut 4constituting the threaded element of the fixed part 2 of the carrier,while a screw,such as as 16, having a swiveled connection with themovable part 9 of the carrier, is preferably the element whichcooperates with said fixed nut. The screw shown has a squared head 17, athreaded When the movable part or 21 at the end'of the part 9.

shank of considerable length screwed into and adapted to be adjustedinthe nut 4, and a journal 18, peripherally grooved, as at 19, toreceive a pair of pins 20, which pass through the movable part 9 of thecarrier and serve to prevent longitudinal movement of the screw 16 withrespect to the part 9, while permitting turning of the screw in the boreIt will be obvious that'when this screw 16 is turned in one or the otherdirection the tube-spreading members 13 and 13will be moved lengthwiseof the tool, and, moreover, that they will be held positively in anyposition to which they may be adjusted. Hence when the tubest and t arespread to the desired extent the working faces 14 and 15 and 14 and 1501 the tube -spreading members serve to maintain the tubes-in suchspread positions until the fire-brick is inserted in placeor removed, asby means of the tool shown and described in our companion application.The adjusting-screw 16 may be turned in any suitable manner-as,forexamble, by means of a handle in the form of a T- wrench 22.

\Vhen tubes of water-tube boilers and other apparatus are spread in themanner just described, the cutting of the fire-bricks as heretoforepracticed is rendered unnecessary, because the tubes when spread aresufficiently far apart to admit the full-sized approximatelydiamond-shaped fire-brick be tween them. Because of this the fullstrength of the fire-brick as it comes from the manufacturer isretained. One of these firebricks is illustrated at b in Figs. 4 and 5.The dotted lines 23 show the extent to which the ends ofthe fire-brickusually have to be cut away. The full lines 24 in Fig. 5 show the extentto which the edges 25 of an ordinary fire-brick usually have to be cutaway and rounded before they can be inserted, the dotted lines showingthe normal lines of the fire-brick as it is made.

What we claim is 1. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers,embodying a carrier, a pair of tube-spreading members for spreading aplurality of tubes relatively to one another, and means for moving saidtube-spreading members toward and from each other.

2. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodymg acarrier, a pair of tube-spreading members for spreading a plurality oftubes relatively to one another, said tube spreading members havingparallel working faces, and means for moving said tube-spreading memberstoward and from each other and maintaining said working faces inparallelism.

3. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying acarrier, a pair of tube-spreading members for spreading a plurality oftubes relatively to one another, and

means for moving said tube-spreading members toward and from each otherand for holding them in any position to which they may be shifted.

4. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier the two parts of which are adjustable relatively toeach other, and a pair of tubespreading members for spreading aplurality of tubes relatively to one another, said tubespreading membersbeing secured respectively to the two parts of the carrier.

5. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier the two parts of which are connected by screw-threadsand are adjustable thereby relatively to each other, and a pair oftubespreading members for spreading a plurality of tubes relatively toone another, said tubespreading members being secured respectively tothe two parts of the carrier and movable toward and from each other.

6. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier the two parts of which are connected by screw-threadsand are adjustable thereby relatively to each other, and a pair of tubespreading members for spreading a plurality of tubes relatively to oneanother, said tubespreading members being secured respectively to thetwo parts of the carrier and movable toward and from each other andhaving parallel working faces.

7. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier forming a rod one part of which constitutes a guide andthe other part a slide movable along said guide, means for adjustingsaid slide on said guide and for holding it in its adjusted position,and a pair of tube-spreading members secured respectively to the twoparts of the carrier.

8. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier forming a rod one part of which constitutes a guide andthe other part a slide movable along said guide, means for adjustingsaid slide on said guide and for holding it in its adjusted position,and a pair of tube-spread ing members secured respectively to the twoparts of the carrier and havmg working faces extending in parallelismand at an acute angle'to the axis of the carrier.

9. A tool for spreading the tubes of watertube boilers, embodying acarrier having more than two tube-spreading members, and means formoving said tube-spreading members away from and toward each other tospread and release more than two tubes.

10. A tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers, embodying acarrier, twov pairs of tube-spreading members, and means for moving themembers of one pair away from and toward each other in one direction andfor moving the members of the other pair away from and toward each otherin a direction transverse thereto to spread and release two pairs oftubes.

11. A tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers, embodying acarrier, two pairs of tube-spreading members the Working faces of eachpair being parallel, and means for moving the members of one pair awayfrom and toward each other in one direction and for moving the membersof the other pair away from and toward each other in a directiontransverse thereto to spread and release two pairs of tubes.

12. A tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers, embodying arod-like carrier, two pairs of tube-spreading members the working facesof each pair being parallel and the working faces of one pair beingdisposed at an acute angle to the axis of the carrier, and means formoving the members of one pair away from and toward each other in thedirection of the length of the carrier and for moving the members of theother pair away from and toward each other in a direction transversethereto to spread and release two pairs of tubes.

13. A tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier the two parts of which are adjustable relatively toeach other, and two pairs of tubespreading members one member of eachpair being secured to one part of the carrier and the other member ofeach pair being secured to the other part of the carrier and the workingfaces of members of different pairs being disposed at different angles.

14. A tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers, embodying atwopart carrier the two parts of which are adjustable rela tively toeach other, and two pairs of tubespreading members one member of eachpair being secured to one part of the carrier and the other member ofeach pair being secured to the other part of the carrier and the membersof one pair having parallel working faces disposed substantially at aright angle to the carrier and the members of the other pair havingparallel working faces disposed substantially at an acute angle to thecarrier.

15. A tool for spreading the tubes of wator-tube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier the two parts of which are connected by screw-threadsand are adjustable thereby relatively to each other, two pairs oftubespreading members one member of each pair being secured to one partofthe carrier and the other member of each pair being secured to theother part of the carrier and the working faces of members of differentpairs being disposed at'different angles.

16. A tool for spreading the tubes of water-tube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier one part of which has a fixed nut and the other part ofwhich is slidable along the first, an adjusting-screw working in saidnut of the first part of the carrier and swiveled to the other part ofsaid carrier, and a pair of tubespreading members secured respectivelyto the two parts of the carrier and movable toward and from each other.

17. A tool for spreading the tubes of wator-tube boilers, embodying atwo-part carrier one part of which has a fixed nut and the other part ofwhich is slidable along the first, an adjusting-screw working in saidnut of the first part of the carrier and swiveled to the other part ofsaid carrier, and two pairs of tube-spreading members one member of eachpair being secured to one part of the carrier and the other member ofeach pair being secured to the other part of the carrier and the workingfaces of members of different pairs being disposed at different angles.

Signed at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, this23d day of June, A. D. 1905.

PATRICK HEELY. JOHN KEERS.

Witnesses:

ROBERT H. MAOFARLANE, ROBERT CHAMPION.

